📖 Meaning
A metaphor for one's life's great literary works, especially books or writings meant to be preserved for future generations. It refers to the undertaking of writing and leaving behind enduring scholarly works that outlive the author.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom comes from Sima Qian's (司马迁) 'Records of the Grand Historian' (《史记》), in the postscript 'The Autobiography of the Grand Historian' (《太史公自序》) written during the Western Han dynasty. Fearing his work might be lost, Sima Qian wrote that he would 'hide it in a famous mountain and keep a copy in the capital, waiting for a sage or noble person of later ages' (藏之名山，副在京师，俟后世圣人君子). Hiding a manuscript in a mountain was done to protect it from destruction and ensure its transmission to posterity. From this, the great undertaking of writing books that will be preserved for later generations came to be called '名山事业'.
💡 Example Usage
他穷尽毕生心血的名山事业，终于流传后世。
The great work that consumed his lifelong effort was finally passed down to later generations.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
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🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 名山事业
- Pinyin: míng shān shì yè
- Literal Translation: famous mountain, career undertaking
- Category: Knowledge
- Characters: 4